


Always Here

by Higgles123



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:14:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21569743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Higgles123/pseuds/Higgles123
Summary: A sweet little Arthur Shelby one shot because who doesn't love this absolute softy?
Relationships: Arthur Shelby/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 73





	Always Here

You were awoken by the sound of tapping. You rubbed your eyes and yawned as something it hit your window once… twice. You swung your legs out of bed and moved the threadbare curtains out of the way before yanking the window up. You were not surprised to see the grinning face of your oldest friend, Arthur Shelby, staring up you.

That doltish grin was one of the earliest memories you had of him. It had been a cold January evening as you walked home from school alone. Always alone. The girls in your class disliked you. They only wanted to play with dolls and do each other’s hair, whereas you preferred to run around and get filthy dirty playing with the boys. But the boys didn’t want a smelly girl annoying them so you had stayed alone. It had never bothered you. You weren’t one for self-pity. You had five older sisters and actually enjoyed the peace and quiet that came from being alone.

The ground was icy and you hadn’t noticed the patch right beneath your worn boots until it was too late. Suddenly you were flat on your back staring up at the grey sky when a face appeared above you. A face belonging to a tall, lanky boy, grinning widely.

“Enjoy your fall?” he teased, holding out a hand to help you up. “You went down with a right bang. Surprised you’re not crying.”

And somehow from that you two became the best of friends. Always running through the streets like tearaways, getting into as much trouble as possible. You lost count of the number of times your parents had tried to stop your association with Arthur, but you two always found your way back to each other. Eventually your parents stopped trying.

“Arthur, what the fuck do you want?” you hissed, mindful that your mother and father were asleep in the next room. You still lived with them, and despite being a fully grown adult, you were forced to abide by their rules whilst living under their roof.

“I came to see you. Thought we could go for a drink.”

“Well that’s lovely, but it’s the middle of the night,” you whispered, shaking your head. “Everywhere’s shut, so why don’t you come back at a normal fucking time and knock on the door, yeah?”

“That’s why I brought this.” In his hand was a bottle of whiskey and he took a sip out of it before holding it up towards the window. “But if you won’t come out then I guess I’ll have to come up there. Be like the old days.”

As Arthur reached for the drainpipe that you and he had shimmied up and down on many occasions growing up, you let out a groan.

“Wait there you shit head.”

Within five minutes you were dressed and sneaking barefoot down the stairs, avoiding the third step from the bottom which always creaked loudly. Arthur was waiting at the front door as you opened it and he slung an arm around you and kissed your temple sloppily.

“Get off, you oaf,” you frowned, grabbing hold of him to steady yourself as you slipped your shoes on.

“I’ve missed you,” Arthur smirked, pulling you in for another hug. It had been weeks since you had spent any proper time together. You were busy at work and Arthur was busy being a Shelby.

“I missed you too,” you smiled, holding him tight for a moment before taking the bottle out of his hands and taking a sip with a wink.

You walked through the deserted streets, the sounds of your synchronised footsteps echoing in the night until you reached the place that had you come to ever since being small. It was right on the edge of the cut, not far from Charlie’s yard.

“It’s bloody freezing,” you complained, your breath coming out in a smoke like mist.

“Winter’s coming,” Arthur said.

“Really? And here was me thinking summer came after autumn,” you muttered sarcastically.

“Fuck off, eh?” Arthur nudged you, lighting up a cigarette.

The golden ember illuminated his face and you saw the tired shadows around his eyes. You sighed. Arthur hadn’t been right for a few years. Not since returning from the war. The funny boy that had left had returned a man broken from the inside out.

“You look tired Arthur,” you murmured softly, stroking his hair back where it had fallen across his forehead. “Have you stopped taking that medicine from the doctor?”

“Tommy doesn’t want me having it,” he shrugged.

You shook your head and snorted scornfully. Arthur was well aware how you felt about his brother. It wasn’t that you disliked Tommy; far from it in fact. He loved his family and did everything in his power to better their lives. But he was selfish. So fucking selfish. He constantly bemoaned and belittled Arthur for wearing his heart on his sleeve and for feeling things. Tommy himself was made of fucking ice, you were sure, and he expected his brother to be the same.

“Tommy’s just looking out for me, Y/N,” Arthur spoke, as if sensing your thoughts.

And that was the worst thing about it all. Arthur truly believed that. He took Tommy’s word as gospel. Saint fucking Thomas could do no wrong in his older brother’s eyes. He was Arthur’s hero and that was that. But that didn’t stop you from trying time and time again to remind Arthur that he was his own man and could make his own choices.

He needed the medicine from the doctor. He needed it more than the alcohol and fucking snow that he gorged himself on in the hopes of making everything that hurt disappear. How many times had you or Tommy or John found Arthur in the throes of depression; trying desperately to end his life in a feeble attempt to feel light again? Too many times. Yet still Tommy was happy to let his brother suffer if it meant he was fit for business or for knocking someone’s lights out.

“And so am I,” you replied, taking the cigarette from between his fingers and inhaling.

You coughed as the smoke curled around inside your lungs and your eyes watered. Arthur patted your back, taking the cigarette back and chortling.

“I just don’t get it,” you grimaced. “It’s disgusting.”

“Well no one made you do it,” Arthur smirked at you.

You said nothing. You simply rested your head against Arthur’s side, sighing contentedly when his arm came around your shoulder. You buried yourself against his chest, breathing in his familiar smell, listening to the rhythmic thudding of his heart underneath your ear. Your eyes drifted shut as his hand rubbed up and down your back, tracing circles in a soothing motion.

“Y/N?” Arthur spoke quietly, his gruff voice unusually soft.

“Hmm?” 

“Do you remember the night before I left to fight?”

You remembered. Arthur’s arm tightened around you and you knew he was thinking about it too.

_“Don’t cry, Y/N,” Arthur sighed, wiping your face as you burst into tears again._

_“I can’t help it,” you sobbed. “I don’t want you to go.”_

_“I know,” Arthur soothed. “But I have to go. I’m doing this for you, eh? I’m doing it to keep the likes of you and our Ada safe, aren’t I?”_

_“What if… what if you don’t…” you couldn’t get the words out. You knew you were being rather unfair. The poor man was leaving his home and his country to go and fight God knows where and for who knew how long, and here you were crying like some mourning widow._

_“You aint getting rid of me that easily,” Arthur smiled, stroking the hair back from your face, wiping at your eyes with a handkerchief from his pocket. “Even if I die over there, I’ll be back to haunt you, don’t worry.”_

_“Promise?” your bottom lip wobbled._

_“Cross my heart,” Arthur swore vehemently._

_“Jimmy Matthews asked me to kiss him yesterday,” you blurted out suddenly._

_You saw the jealously on Arthur’s face instantly and regretted saying anything. You didn’t know why you had said it. There was a part of you that wanted to see what Arthur’s reaction would be. The other part of you said it just to try and lighten the mood. Judging by Arthur’s expression, you hadn’t quite managed to do that._

_“I told him to fuck off,” you said hurriedly. “Didn’t want to have my first kiss with him. Susan Evans told me he kissed her at that Christmas party last year and she said it was like being slobbered all over by a fucking horse and that his breath was like sweaty feet.”_

_You waited for Arthur’s face to break out into that grin you would miss, but he just tilted his head and looked at you strangely._

_“Your first kiss?” he frowned. “You mean you’ve never kissed anyone? Not even once?”_

_“No,” you pulled a face. “What? Why are you looking me like I’m a bloody leper?”_

_“I’m not,” Arthur shook his head. “It’s just… I can’t believe you’ve never… oh fuck it. Y/N?”_

_“What?” you pouted, confused by how bothered he was by your admission. How did he not know anyway? He was your best friend. You told him everything._

_“Will you let me do something?”_

_“Depends,” you eyed him warily._

_“Close your eyes.”_

_“What the fuck for?”_

_“Just trust me, eh?”_

_With an eye roll and sigh, you lowered your eyelids and waited. And waited. What the fuck was he doing? But no sooner had you thought it then you felt his mouth upon yours tentatively. You didn’t feel disgusted, even though you definitely thought you should have. This was bloody Arthur, for crying out loud. When his hand came up to cup your face, he deepened the kiss and your mouth moved with his, opening when his tongue licked gently at your lips._

_“Arthur? Where the fuck are you?” John’s voice bellowed through the house. “Pol’s looking for you.”_

_You pulled away quickly, a blush creeping up your neck as you and Arthur just started at each other._

_“There you are,” John appeared. “Hello, Y/N. You alright?”_

_“Yeah,” you nodded, clearing your throat, avoiding Arthur’s eyes. “Just came to say goodbye to Arthur.”_

_“What about me?” John grinned. “Don’t I get a goodbye as well?”_

_Smiling, you stood and allowed John to pull you into a hug._

_“I’d better be off then,” you decided, looking to Arthur once more; terrified it was going to be the last time you saw him._

_Arthur stood and walked you to the door; the two of you silent and sombre._

_“I’ll miss you,” Arthur spoke first, his eyes softer then you had ever seen them before._

_“And you,” you whispered, swallowing the thick lump in your throat. “Stay safe. For me.”_

_Arthur nodded and when you embraced each other, neither of you wanted to ever let go. You wanted to stay in this moment forever. But eventually your arms dropped and with a brave smile, you left him there as you disappeared into the evening._

_It was raining when you had walked home. You were soaked to the bone by the time you got back but you didn’t mind. The raindrops upon your face mingled with the tears streaming from your eyes, allowing you to pour out the pain and sudden confusion you felt without worrying about anyone noticing._

Five years had passed since that night but the confusion had never eased. Your heart still jolted when you saw Arthur; your breath still caught in your throat when he held you in a friendly embrace. You didn’t know what Arthur had felt when his lips had met with your own. Neither of you had ever mentioned it. Not in the dozens of heartfelt letters that had travelled across war torn countries to each other; not in the late night conversations where alcohol had loosened your lips; not ever. It had just floated around in the periphery of your friendship. Until now.

“I remember,” you nodded, lifting your head to look at him.

“I’ve thought about that kiss every day since,” Arthur admitted, his eyes taking in every inch of your face, as though he was memorising you.

“Me too.”

Arthur didn’t try to contain his surprise. His eyebrow raised almost comically, and you might have laughed if you didn’t feel like you were frozen by the look in his eyes. Had they always looked at you in such a way? As though you were a beacon of light in his dark soul?

He leaned down and when his lips brushed against yours, your eyes fluttered shut and you wanted to cry and laugh all at the same time. Your tongues danced together in an expression of feeling and desire that had been kept locked away and was now finally free, and you felt Arthur smile against your mouth as you wound your arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

You didn’t feel the first drop of rain as it landed on your head. And even moments later when the heavens opened, the two of you sat and let the rain wash over you. All that mattered was the rush of euphoria that tore through you both, invigorating you more than the cool water falling from the sky ever could.

Arthur pulled back first, smiling down at you, rain dripping from his hair and onto your face.

“Five fucking years,” he shook his head. “Five years I’ve wasted waiting for you.”

“I was always here, Arthur,” you smiled.

And here was where you would forever be. 


End file.
